Why I Quit My Job (To Start A Business) | Episode 49

Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ https://htabook.com/?el=podcast-49-why-i-quit-my-job

🗣 We’re exploring how Lewis made the courageous leap from a 9-5 job to entrepreneurial success. We’ll dive into Lewis's personal journey of leaving the corporate world and uncovering the path to business ownership. 

Discover the challenges faced, lessons learned, and the incredible freedom and growth that await those who dare to pursue their dreams.

👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here  ➡️https://youtu.be/2IfIBzBQR0w

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Topics Discussed:

★ Stuck in Traffic: The corporate 9-5 grind can often feel like being trapped in an endless traffic jam, with little room for personal growth or autonomy.

★ The Spark of Change: Lewis shares the pivotal moment that ignited his desire for something more than a traditional job, involving a chance encounter in an Ace hotel and a life-changing book.

★ E-Commerce's Appeal: Lewis discusses why e-commerce, specifically dropshipping, stood out as an appealing entrepreneurial opportunity due to its scalability, low capital requirements, and minimal risk.

★ Dealing with Fear and Doubt: Overcoming fear and doubt is an essential part of transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship. 

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

For Aspiring Business Owners or Side Hustle Seekers Based In the UK…

New Book Reveals How To Launch A Low-Maintenance High-Profit E-Commerce Business Using The UK "Home-Turf Advantage”…

While also enjoying more time with your family, being free to travel, and setting the hours you work.

Click here to get your copy >>> https://htabook.com/?el=podcast-49-why-i-quit-my-job

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/shopify 

Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/circle 

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Key Takeaways:

★ Transition Strategy: Learn about the practical steps Lewis took to transition from his job to entrepreneurship, including balancing both roles until he was ready to fully commit to his business.

★ Following a Proven Process: The importance of following a structured business plan and avoiding the temptation to deviate from it, as it prevents overwhelm and confusion.

★ Gains vs. Losses: Reflecting on the journey, Lewis discusses the immense gains he achieved compared to what he left behind in the 9-5 world, including personal freedom, growth, financial stability, and the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

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FOLLOW:

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• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
• Website: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com

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Transcript

Lewis Smith: 0:00

didn't need to build a huge team didn't need to have overhead could do it from anywhere in the world uncapped earning potential like it just for me, it was just ticking all the

James Eardley: 0:08

boxes inside your eyes has been opened to a new world. I mean, it's so easy to follow the corporate ladder that we all trained to follow. After

Lewis Smith: 0:15

that, we're going to tell all of our friends and family were quitting our jobs that we've been in for close to 10 years. And we are moving to Thailand.

James Eardley: 0:23

No doubt, and this will be very relatable for people to hear is that you had fears you must have had doubts. Most of our times, were you worried? If it was all going to work? Or you question it,

Lewis Smith: 0:33

change, you know, some people wouldn't want to change because they're fearful that it rocks the stability that they have. But the me the fear was not acting on this opportunity was

James Eardley: 0:44

more terrifying as if you get to the top and realize the whole time you're climbing that ladder, you actually had it up against the wrong wall.

Lewis Smith: 0:51

It's scary. But when you do it, you open your eyes to the other possibilities that are around, you start to see things that were there all along. And you realize, oh, okay, there's a whole new level to this that I haven't even explored yet. Welcome to the dropship unlocked Podcast. I'm Louis Smith, the founder of dropship unlocked and with me is our Client Success Coach James Eardley. Now, when we're not recording the podcast episodes, we're running our own e commerce businesses and helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own high ticket dropshipping businesses, keen to build your own six or even seven figure business. My book, the home turf advantage is your blueprint for launching a profitable online store. Grab your copy at HT a book.com to date, and let's get you started. Now sit back, relax. And let's unlock your potential with the dropship unlocked Podcast.

James Eardley: 1:54

Today we're diving into a topic that we're both very passionate about. It's about leaving our traditional nine to five jobs to start our dream businesses. It's a decision and thoughts that a lot of us have, because so many people hold back from taking that step. So with Louis today, I'm going to be uncovering why he made that step and quit his job, and also how he was able to take that leap. So Louis, let's start off by going back in time a little bit. What was your life? Like when you had a traditional job? Before you embarked on your entrepreneurial journey? Yeah, well, I

Lewis Smith: 2:28

was in the same profession, or the same company for close to a decade, I think it was like maybe eight years. And working in that nine to five job felt like, it's kind of like you, you're stuck in a traffic jam every day. And you're seeing all the other lanes of traffic moving, and you feel like yours is at a standstill, you know, when you're in traffic, and you think like, Oh, should I switch to that image, and you're constantly like second guessing your, your path that you've chosen in line. And whilst it was it was that like tolerable mediocrity that they talk about where it wasn't like, I absolutely despised it or hated it like it was it was good, it was respectable company. As the years went on, I started to realize that because it wasn't unbearable, it was that it would be very easy to resign myself to a level of complacency. And for my inherent drive and ambition to start to just fizzle out because it couldn't be channeled anywhere. And so I could see that pattern emerging. And I could see the people who were further down the path than where I was in that corporation. And where they were getting to and how they were dealing with with life and seeing the ambition kind of almost sapped out of them. Not not everybody, but just, you just know, I think when it's not the path that you want to be on long term. And whilst the traditional way of doing it, the kind of common narrative would have been to work my way up to work on getting promoted, you know, hit all my KPIs, my target, maybe eventually get promoted to a director or global management role and, you know, be flying all around the US and taking on a senior leadership role in this huge corporation, which sounds exciting, right? Don't get me wrong, the graduate in me who left university if I was presented with that opportunity, I would have been very grateful. I thought, Wow, that sounds amazing. That's like, you know, traditional corporate success. But when I got closer to it, and I met a lot of those leaders, and I sat down with them, you know, after work and having drinks and stuff at the bar, I looked at them and thought, are the people in those positions truly happy? The money, of course, would be good, but do they have what I'm actually looking for deep down? Can they have that autonomy to do whatever they want in their day completely guilt free? You know, like, can they just go for a walk with their family in the middle of the day and have no consequence? Don't have to get on any calls don't have any responsibilities in that sense. Can they catch a flight to an exotic destination like right now I'm in Mexico. recording this whilst on holiday with my family, but still working, and I'll be here for the next six weeks, you know, can they do those things? Not just Can they do them? Because anyone can kind of apply for a sabbatical and take that time off. But can they do them whilst their income continues to grow independently of their time? Yeah, it's

James Eardley: 5:19

interesting that you were looking at that straightaway. And you put yourself in the position of people ahead of you, and realize that wasn't where you wanted to be. And the more and more people I speak to, when you hear about people that quit their jobs, you expect to hear people that were just hating their jobs, and it wasn't right for them. But actually, more and more people I know that quit their job and start their own business, or just in that mediocrity, and they're just tolerating something that they don't necessarily hate that much. But they realize it isn't where they want to be. So that's actually very relatable to hear that there is to know that you just knew there was something else out there, and you knew what you were looking up to, in terms of where you would be in 20 years was where you wanted to be, I guess. Yeah,

Lewis Smith: 5:57

exactly. And I remember bringing some quite innovative ideas to my company into my role, and there being just so much red tape and bureaucracy around it. You know, you bring all these great ideas, and you say, What about using this piece of software? Or, you know, I found that this iPad app, if we rolled it out, could do what we're trying to do as a team. And then they say, oh, yeah, but it would need to go through like a third party risk approval process. And that has to go to global and that takes four weeks. And then you have to involve cumin, and I'm like, Ah, this is just like, hampering my ability to do anything like I know, you try to progress things. And it just, you know, it's no one's fault. But it's just that corporate red tape, because they have to be so cautious and risk aware, because it's such a litigious world. They say that with at corporations, they're like these big oil tankers were like to actually turn the direction even by a few degrees takes so much force and effort. And it just didn't feel very agile, you know, I used to have to head up to the north of England quite frequently in my role, because we had one office up in the north and one down in the south. And so I'd get on a train for two and a half, three hours up to the north of England. And whilst I was on that train sitting there at 630, you know, everybody's sitting there having their breakfast and then kind of having their coffee trying to wake themselves up. I just stare out the window. And it was always like, very, you know, drizzly typical kind of British winter weather like dark grey. And I just think, is this it? Like is this it? Is this me for the rest of my career. And I think it's very easy to have that tunnel vision when you are in the middle of it, because you're not shown any alternative. And so you wouldn't even consider the alternative option, because you haven't been shown. And even if someone showed it to you and said, Hey, look, this guy over here, runs his business and lives on the other side of the planet and does it in four hours a week, you probably wouldn't believe it, because it's so far removed from your reality. And, you know, in traffic every morning sitting in traffic jams when I was driving into work, I'd listened to the same radio station every day, I was hitting the same traffic jams every day, I was driving into the same office probably park in the same parking space every day if it was available. And everyone I spoke to at work seemed to have this feeling of like I mentioned in the beginning, that complacency. It's like that false sense of security in the 95, where they view their job as secure that I saw it slightly differently. I saw the job as a barrier to my personal growth and to my own financial independence, because I seen what would happen if I committed my life to that path and worked my way up as high as I could possibly get to VP or CEO. And so will does the person in that position have what I'm aiming for? And actually, I don't think they did. So there comes a point where you think well, is the tree that I'm climbing even the right tree? You know, should I stop now before I get to the top, because otherwise, I'm going to have committed my whole life to it. So it depends how big you want to dream. And if you're willing to dare to dream outside the box and think I'm going to die, I'm aiming for something beyond what anybody around me can even comprehend. It's scary. But when you do it, you open your eyes to the other possibilities that are around and you start to see things that were there all along. And you realize, oh, okay, there's a whole new level to this that I haven't even explored yet.

James Eardley: 9:24

Yeah. And it's so exciting when you look around. And there is a bit of a fear that a lot of people feel when they look at going into another role or starting something different because you get complacent and you get comfortable in the same routine. But what's more terrifying than that, and I realized was actually, when we're climbing these corporate ladders, and when we get to the top was more terrifying as if you get to the top and realize the whole time you are climbing that ladder. You actually had it up against the wrong wall. And you only realize that when you get to the top looking back down at where you should have started. So it's a very interesting story. I think people can resonate with that feeling. looking around and feeling like, is this it? So could you share? Do you think there was a moment that you really realize that that traditional nine to five path wasn't for you? Yeah, I

Lewis Smith: 10:10

think there were several moments, but really the one that led to that kind of domino falling effective. Okay, now the plan is in motion. It was one morning, and I was working with a colleague, and we used to sometimes meet up in areas of London, like when we weren't in the office, we would go to certain like hotels and work from the lobby and things like that. And one of the hotels we went to was actually a hotel in Shoreditch in East London called the Ace Hotel. And I went there with a colleague, and we were, we had our laptops, I like Lenovo workbooks, under, you know, real corporate laptops under our hands, and went in, and we're going to go through some like company reports and figures and do some spreadsheet stuff. And out of the corner of my eye, just as we walked in, I saw this group of guys and girls that were like, they were all dressed pretty casually. And they had their MacBooks. And they're all relaxed. You know, as soon as you see people with Macbooks, you're like, Okay, these, these people are very, like, cool. You know that they're relaxed. They're, they're not in a typical corporate world, you could tell they weren't dressed up in suits and ties and stuff they were wearing like hoodies, and T shirts, but they were in the zone, they were working on something collaborating, and they had that nice, black white coffees in front of them. And you could just tell that they were doing well, you know, these words, students, they were professionals, but they were doing well working in a relaxed apps and enjoying what they were doing in a hotel, you know, on a Friday morning in London. And I had no idea what they were doing. I didn't know their line of work or anything. But the work appeared to be so different to mine. And for a moment, as I stood there, like we were looking for a seat somewhere to sit down, and I kind of looked at them. And I felt like I'd come into contact with another dimension of work, you know, because they were also working, but just very different to my version and definition of work. And I'd never been shown the alternative to what I did, which was you wear a suit and tie and you go to a corporate office, and that's where you work. And you know, but one day, when I ventured out on a day trip into this hotel, suddenly I saw these other people, and they seem to have time freedom, because they were there, presumably of their own choosing. And they had location freedom, because they were in a nice hotel, and they chosen to be there. They had outfit freedom, you know, they're wearing whatever they wanted to wear hoodies and T shirts. And they just kind of appeared to be what you'd think of when you hear the word startup. And the colleagues that I was with turned to me and we were looking at these people. And she said, Have you ever considered working for a startup I'd always see new as the entrepreneurial type. And I remember that I kind of just brushed off the statement at the time. But later, you know, in a statement like rings through your your ears, but you know, the next few hours and you think entrepreneurial startup Have I ever considered that had I not like those people seem to enjoy what they were doing. I could see me doing something. And on the train ride home. I was thinking about it. And throughout the rest of the day, I was thinking entrepreneurs startup business, I wonder if I could do something like that. And that night in bed, I was lying there. And I knew I had another long commute to the next day. So I wanted to listen to something other than just the same old playlist or radio station. And so I opened up the audible app, you know for like audiobooks. And I'd been listening to like fiction audiobooks up to that point. I wasn't really into like self development books or business books or anything like that. And I typed in the word entrepreneurship, just out of interest. I didn't I didn't actually Google it, I typed it into audible. On the the book that showed up first was The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. And when you see that title, you think what, what is interesting, or hour workweek, like is that even possible. And as I listened to that book, in the next few days, I was engrossed by it like that next morning, I could not stop listening to it, you know, when you're sitting in the car park at work, and you've arrived, but you're like, I don't want to get out the car because I want to keep listening to it. I want to know what's next. And it was like this kind of dormant volcano of entrepreneurial passion that they had just started rumbling to life like it had been there the whole time. But it wasn't until my colleague mentioned that statement that was kind of awakened and it was signaling to me, it was time to move, it was time to do something here. It's

James Eardley: 14:15

like your eyes have been opened to a new world. I mean, it's so easy to follow the corporate ladder that we all trained to follow out of work out of school, into college into a job, and you just follow that ladder. It's only when you see that other people are doing something else. And of course, when you read The Four Hour Workweek, I mean that's a complete change of lifestyle from anything that you've ever considered before. And suddenly, I guess it was a bit of a build up. Initially it was those thoughts about wanting to have something different, not looking and not being attracted to where people were above you. And it was a gradual, it sounds like a bit of a gradual sort of coming up on you, I guess of realizing that there was another world out there that you would enjoy more. Yeah, exactly.

Lewis Smith: 14:55

Because he he kind of in the book, Tim Ferriss talks about creating a drop dripping business. So he, he talks about the four hour workweek and this amazing thing, but it's not. The whole book is not abstract ideas. It's like, okay, now you probably want to know specifically, how do you obtain this amazing life where you can live in Thailand and earn your money in dollars or pounds whilst spending, you know, Thai baht or Mexican pesos or whatever. And in that book, he talks about drop shipping as a business model as a concept. And he talks about the type of drop shipping business that I think he talks about one that he ran, or if it's not him, then he talks about like examples of other digital nomads who are running, drop shipping businesses and using it to travel to incredible countries or all whilst working on their their own businesses just a few hours per week. But being location independent, and financially free, I realized were the two things that stood out most to me because I could have read a different book on entrepreneurship that would have said, like, how to create a unicorn startup company, and like, you know, it's like entrepreneurship through a corporate lens. So like, you're, yes, you're creating your own business, but you're doing it with the means of eventually becoming the CEO, with a corner glass office, in your corporate building, you know, it's like the same end result. Whereas this was different. It was like, you're creating a business, to create a lifestyle, and enable a lifestyle that allows you to live an incredible life. And I realized that I had to learn more about this kind of parallel universe that had existed the whole time. But I'd never just never seen, you know, no one had ever shown yet. And so I went down the rabbit hole, I went down the rabbit hole for the next few days and researched and watched YouTube videos, and I listened to podcasts. And I realized there was this whole movement called digital nomad, and location independence. Like that's the, that's the terminology. And for me, it was the best of both worlds because it was the time and location freedom, that was the thing I really wanted the ability to travel, which is something I'm really passionate about, I love going to new cultures trying amazing new food. And just, I feel like that's part that one of the things I enjoy most in life, to being able to see and experience the rest of the world enjoy time doing what I love to do. But also without stifling my ambition and my drive, having that uncapped earning potential, because, you know, your business can grow as big as you want it to. Because there are, as I said, as the startup, become an A unicorn, developer and create an amazing corporate business where, you know, you still create the business and you're kind of grounded in like, you've got a team of developers and you are the boss. And then there's the kind of, oh, become location independent. And you can do things like teaching English as a foreign language or stuff like that, we're still trading your time for money, but you're just doing it remotely and location independent, but obviously, your earning potential is not gonna be anywhere near as high as if you create a business. Whereas dropshipping was the best of both worlds, didn't have to hold, stop, didn't need to build a huge team didn't need to have overhead could do it from anywhere in the world uncapped earning potential. Like it just for me, it was just ticking all the boxes, and I just thought this, like, I couldn't get the thought out of my head for the next few days. And they say that some people fear change, you know, some people wouldn't want to change because they're fearful that it rocks the stability that they have. But for me, the fear was not acting on this opportunity. Because it was like, you know, in the movies were like a gateway to a parallel universe just opens up temporarily, like a wormhole into another time zone. And suddenly it opened up, and I was fearful that it might close at any time for me, I felt like if I don't use the momentum and the excitement that I have now, to do something about this, and to act on this information that I've just been presented with, the biggest regret, for me, would be not pursuing my passion and my potential and end up looking back on this years to come and just staying saying like, Oh, wow, yeah, I remember that book, I was really passionate about that, you know, shame. I accepted that promotion, and then just forgot about it and carried on as usual. For the rest of my career. I wonder what would have happened if I had done that, for me was the biggest fear. And

James Eardley: 19:08

clearly that had just taken over your life view. I think as soon as you'd seen that, you realized that that was the opportunity that ticked all the boxes for you. And you're such an ambitious person. So you didn't want to feel like you were just taking an option that felt like you were quitting your job and going backwards. Clearly, you knew that this was a huge step forward, as in your career, because the untapped earning potential, have your own business, and run it from anywhere in the world as well. And I love how we've come full circle talking about this topic. While you're out there in Mexico with the background behind you. It looks amazing. And you're of course, still running the business that you set up all those years ago, while also having other businesses that you've set up since then, grabbing your earning potential far beyond what you would have initially had if you carried on down that road and talking about how you did it along the way. So it's uh, yeah, fascinating to hear that story. Lewis I'm keen as well to dig in as well a little bit more into the E commerce business model and why specifically, that ticks so many boxes for you? Well, in the book, when Tim Ferriss talks about dropshipping, in the four hour workweek, he explains how great of a concept it is due to the scalability, the low capital requirements, because you don't need to buy huge amounts of stock, you don't need to order in stock in bulk, you only pay for items once the customer has already paid you. And no need to go and hire a huge team, low overheads, you

Lewis Smith: 20:33

don't need a big warehouse or even an office space, you can do the whole thing from just a laptop, very low risks, really, in that sense, you don't need to take on loads of business debt to get started. And so I could see as well the way that the world was going, you know, it's that digital consumption was increasing, YouTube was becoming more and more prevalent. People were doing online programs and learning things online and buying things online and becoming more and more confident paying things and handing over their credit card information or using PayPal to buy things online. And I could also see the decline of bricks and mortar retailers and the high street, you know, you walk down the high street, and it's all all of the old stores that you remember just closing left, right and center. And so it just kind of dawned on me that this ticks all of the boxes, and it still does to this day, like I still think of it and think that's the perfect entry point into entrepreneurship. When I searched on YouTube, obviously back then you search for like dropshipping How do I dropship as it is now, probably less so back then in 2017. But it was still like you come across all of the dropshipping bros who are sitting on their Lambos and they've got their briefcases full of cash and it's all very clickbait and you know, they're trying to kind of entice you in with this, like, get rich, quick, easy, like you just need to sell a few cheap products from China, and you can live in a mansion like me, and you know that there was less of that back in 2017. But it's it still existed. And so initially, you're like, hang on a second, this doesn't feel right. This is not what I thought it was about. But I looked a level deeper and I started searching for different podcasts. And I found a cool podcast called E commerce fuel by a guy called Andrew you Darien and he had a drop shipping business as well as an E commerce business and very knowledgeable guy has some great guests on there really good podcast recommend Melton as well. And yeah, I really enjoyed that. And it was that was like learning about the E commerce side of things and like the specific tactics and optimization strategies and how to grow your business. But then another podcast and who actually recently met the founder of this podcast called The Tropical MBA, which was interesting, because that wasn't so much about e commerce dropshipping. Although it does feature as a business model. It was more about how do you create a location independent business? How do you create a business that allows you to become a digital nomad? And so, yeah, I'd like to think that if I had found the dropship unlocked podcast back then that would have been very high on my list as well. And you know, that's why we created it, isn't it because I didn't feel that something is actionable and clear. About dropshipping existed at that point. And so hopefully, we're helping you out as you're listening to this podcast. But for listeners who are curious about the basics of drop shipping, obviously, that's not the topic of this episode. But if you check out our episode, titled From zero to a million pound business, introducing high ticket dropshipping. That's episode one of the dropship unlocked podcast, I think you'll find that one really helpful if you'd like the kind of actionable steps to get started.

James Eardley: 23:26

Yeah, good shout out there, Louis, for anyone that wants the actionable tips about how you actually went from wanting to leave a job to running a successful e commerce business. But diving back in to your story, and obviously, you realize that dropshipping an E commerce business was gonna fulfill all of those goals that you had. But no doubt, and this will be very relatable for people to hear is that you had fears, you must have had doubts. You must have had times where you worried if it was all going to work or you question if it was possible in the first place. How did you overcome those fears? And those doubts? Of course,

Lewis Smith: 23:59

yeah, like, like anybody considering such a life changing decision, those those fears and doubts are very prevalent, haven't done anything like this before. For me, I told my wife Becky about this amazing new concept that I discovered. And I told her about my plans and my ideas, and I wanted to start an E commerce business and use it to travel the world. And she was excited for me. She didn't fully get it at the time. But she could see that I'd come back to life like I was invigorated by this new challenge and this new opportunity that was now within reach and den she she knew me back then better than I knew myself, I can now see it myself, but I'm only happy and fulfilled when I'm working on a new challenge. When I've got my eyes set on something that's just out of reach far enough that I can focus in on getting to it. I'd really like a goal and a challenge. That's what brings me fulfillment. And so it was it was funny because our over the coming months back then we were so I launched my ecommerce business Got it up and running. And it was making a few 1000 pounds per month in take home profit. So it was kind of like a supplementary income to my day job. And yeah, it started to come to life. And I just did it in evenings and weekends back then while I was still working my job. And at the time, Becky and I were engaged. So I'd propose to Becky, the year before, I think, and we were planning to get married later that year, in 2017, I think it was. And one day in our London apartment, I remember this really vividly, Becky just turned to me and said, I've been thinking about what if we bring the wedding forward to march. And then we quit our jobs. And we move to Thailand. And we go and live in Chiang Mai, like in the jungle in Northern Thailand. And, you know, obviously, Chiang Mai for anyone that doesn't know is the kind of home of the digital nomad. It's like, where all of the digital nomads congregate to it. It's a great place in Thailand with amazing scenery and fast internet and friendly people very cheap cost of living. And it's funny, Becky, and up until that point, Becky wasn't someone who I would have ever guessed would go for a plan like that, let alone be the person to actually suggest it herself. And so I knew that it this was it like those moments in life don't come around too often. And that was the nudge that I needed to overcome the fear of uncertainty and to just trade in that so called stability that I was clinging so tightly to and thought that's the you know, it's the job, that's the stability, and to really just go for it as an entrepreneur to dive in. And just take it to the next level, doing that fear setting tasks that we talk about quite frequently in the four hour workweek was really good, where you asked yourself, okay, so what's the worst that could happen? And when that happens, what will I do, and really detailing it out and realizing I'm actually okay with that, you know, that's why, if that happens, that happens, then it's kind of like preparing to go and jump in a cold zoom and pull out the one behind me if your initial kind of reaction when you do it is that fear and uncertainty. But the moment you jump in, you adapt, you thrive. And eventually, before you know it, you forget about it, and it's not even cold anymore. So if you just start with small, manageable steps, each small step builds your confidence and diminishes that doubt. But eventually, there comes a point where like, we probably just have to go for it. And you have

James Eardley: 27:16

to jump in, and the never gonna have a time in your life where all the stars align, and you feel like it's the right time to leave a job and start a business. If you're waiting for that, it just won't happen. You'll never get rid of the fears, you'll never get rid of the doubts. You just have to see an opportunity and take it for what it is in that moment and go for it. And then once you take that decision, I don't know back, then you clearly haven't looked back, although I'm sure you still have plenty of fears and doubts going through your mind all the way through your journey. But you went for it and knew that you could follow a proven plan to get to the success that you wanted to get to. So there must have been a transition for you to go from employment to entrepreneurship. So what do the steps look like? How did you go from being an employee to running your own business? Yet,

Lewis Smith: 28:01

it is a huge transition. And it's something that I mean, it's this thing that will allow you and cause you to learn the most about the world of work, the word of like earning an income, more than any other job that you can imagine because it is your livelihood. So you really have to pay attention and give it your all. So that initial transition, anyone who's in that stage right now, where you're working a job, and you've got a side gig going on, I sympathize with you because that transition for me it was like, it's like I'm learning to pilot a plane, whilst still flying as a passenger in another plane. You know, I'm balancing both roles, until I'm ready to take off and it's like, okay, now out of the controls, and I'm on my you know, I didn't quit my job immediately. As I said, I built up my business on evenings and weekends, and got it to the point where it had basically replaced my income and had done so with stability for probably six months before I decided that you know, I banked enough to make that jump. But my routine at that point, when I was balancing both, I would get up at 5:30am. I'd head to the gym down the road, my house in London, it was part of a hotel. So I would go into the gym, listen to a podcast, get inspired, do my workout in the morning, get my brain in gear, then in the lobby of the hotel afterwards, once I'd finished in the gym, I'd come upstairs, I'd have my laptop with me, I'd work on my business for the next two hours up until 9am. And then usually there'd be like a team call with my actual team at 9am. So I'd jump on that. And so you're taking like one hat off as the CEO and putting one hat on as your like, middle manager role again, wherever you you're at in your company. And then it would be the same again after work, I'd come back home I'd have some food, I'd kind of prepare myself and then I'd open up the laptop and be like right CEO hat back on again, you know, and it's like CEO, bookkeeper, Chief Marketing Officer salesperson like you are everything in your company at that. And I would tackle the most important tasks that I needed to to build my business and and just tackle them head on. Because I thought, well, I don't have the time or the luxury to think about. Now what could I do, I thought what nice things could add on to my business, it was like, I have to do this, this and this and that don't have time to think about alternatives. So whether that was launching the website, uploading new products, signing new suppliers, optimizing our ads, whatever that things were, those were the activities that I went after vigorously. And it was tough. It was, it was actually unsustainable, but because I knew it wasn't for long, and I had that target date of the wedding in March, and I knew that we were getting married in March. And after that, we're going to tell all of our friends and family, where quit our jobs that we've been in for close to 10 years. And we are moving to Thailand. And I knew that at that point, we would be fully reliant on my business. So I had to make it work. And talk about lighting a fire underneath you like that, when when the realization of that hits home, it really makes sure that you stay on track, and that you follow a proven process, follow a roadmap don't deviate too far from it, because I didn't have time to be trying to figure things out my own way. And see if I could do it differently. I just had to make it work in the way that was proven. And following a proven model.

James Eardley: 31:15

And clearly, there was that healthy pressure that you had to make it work. And so often I hear that for people that get to success, they have to make it work. And that pressure pushes them on to make an incredible success. That obviously I've heard parts of this story before Louis, but every time I hear it, it inspires me again, it's so inspirational to hear. It's like those rocky cutscenes when they're on the on the come up towards a big fight or something. And you know, you're putting in the reps before work few hours before work, you're doing the work. You're transitioning over to becoming a business owner because you have this huge goal and dream for your life. Also, you've got the short term goal of being a digital nomad quickly after you get married. And it's just inspirational to see and hear about a story of someone where they really go after their goals, despite fears, despite doubts. And they go after what they really want to achieve in life because they're worried of not fulfilling their potential if they don't do that. So I've just inspired every time I hear it, you mentioned there that having a proven process was vital. So would you recommend that for others? If they're going to make a big leap? Do they need to have some structure around how they're going to make that leap?

Lewis Smith: 32:22

Definitely. Yeah, I mean, it's hard enough making the leap, but making the leap completely blind slate as well, as is nearly impossible, you know, following a structured business plan. It's like, if you're cooking a really complex meal, if you have the recipe card in front of you, if you have the book in front of you, you're brand new only has to think about what's the next step, you know, you have all of your ingredients lined up, you've only got to figure out the next step bill just saw, okay, now I know it's my ads, okay, here's how my ads need to be optimized. Here's how I optimize the conversion rate of my store is how I fulfill an order when it comes through like otherwise, you're hitting all of those steps blindly. And like with a recipe, some parts of it could be irreversible. If you get the wrong, you know, you've burned part of the recipe, anything now that that ruins the whole recipe. It's a bit like that if you do something incorrectly and you sell products from China, and then they take too long to get delivered. And then your merchant account gets shut down or something because you didn't have suppliers that could offer next day delivery. And suddenly the whole thing. No, you can't proceed, because because you haven't got an option. So yeah, I mean, now from coaching 1000s of entrepreneurs to date, I've seen this time and time again, the entrepreneurs who follow a proven business model are way, way more likely to succeed. I hear about the people who come to us all the time, and then say, I'm going to try and piece a few bits together. And you're not going to piece together what I found online, and I always wish them the best of luck. But what you then see is they'll drift from one shiny object to another, and I'll kind of check in with them. And they'll be like, oh, yeah, no, we're doing print on demand now, and then check in with them two months later, it's like, oh, no, we're going to do that and FBA thing now. And then a few months later, so no, I think I am going to try drop shipping. But I'm going to do it in this way and do it from like, you know, Amazon to eBay or or whatever the model is, like every single time they kind of hit a brick wall. And then they just pivot and move to a different one. And then they move to a different one. And the whole thing comes down to the fact that they didn't have a proven process to follow. So yeah, 100% really important.

James Eardley: 34:16

I mean, starting a business is hard enough without mounting on the fact that you want to try and do it on your own. And without bouncing on trying to do it and work out how to create value for customers on your own. Instead of making it even harder for yourself. You follow how somebody else has already created a business you can learn from their mistakes, made the whole process a lot more seamless. This is exactly what I knew I had to do if I was going to leave my job as I did as well. I knew I needed to have structure around how I could put my energy into growing a business. So I wasn't wasting time and money making countless mistakes. I needed it to work so that for me to make it work. I needed to follow a proven plan that I completely believed in was the key for me. So reflecting on your journey so far, and you're in a great position now where you can look back, you've left your nine to five, you've been running these businesses for years now. What have you gained by leaving behind your job? And would you do the same again? Yes.

Lewis Smith: 35:15

And I would 100% What have I gained? I mean, absolute freedom, unlimited personal growth potential. No red tape, financial security, stability beyond what I would ever have got with any salaried job. But also, I guess I've grown professionally as well, as I mentioned before, like the one way to ensure that you pay attention to the different aspects of your business as it is, when it's your business and your livelihood depends on that, suddenly, you become very proficient in a lot of areas that you would have otherwise probably just outsourced or said, No, that's not my area, like someone else at work does that. But like I said, you need to become the Chief Marketing Officer, the CEO of that finance officer of your own company at first before you've hired a team. But then even learning how to run the company, how to hire a team, how to manage cash flow, but all of those things come with time. And they leave you better equipped than any salaried employee would ever have. Because your livelihood depends on it, and what job would you get where you are responsible for all of those things, I don't think there's a job like that, that that exists, right? Unless you become the CEO of a huge corporation. And but even then your time is not your own, you know, you're answering to shareholders, you've got pressures, like you can't just take six weeks off and go and travel to the other side of the world, like feet, people would would ask questions, also, I just really enjoy life. You know, I'm here with my family in Mexico for the next six weeks, because I wanted to take them out of the UK during the dark, cold months of the year in the UK. And it's something that I would have always loved to do back at my nine to five job if I was sitting on that train, you know, on the way through England at six in the morning, and it was pouring with rain, and I was staring out the window. No matter how far up the ladder, I got promoted in that world, I couldn't have taken six weeks off to just go to the other side of the world and relax, recharge for a bit. So in that sense, the success of me being able to be there and be present as a father and as a husband, with my wife, Becky, and watching our children grow up and being present with them. That alone far outweighs the false security of a nine to five job. So it's like, you know, like, it's like a bird being in a cage and trading in that small secure cage, only to realize what it was missing the whole time is the freedom of the open skies, like it can now fly anywhere. And so yeah, hopefully that answers the question. Without a doubt, leaving my job was the best decision I ever made, despite the initial fears and uncertainties, and it was a very hard thing to do. But I would 100 said, do it go. Yet achieving that kind

James Eardley: 37:57

of freedom in a traditional nine to five just isn't possible. And I remember all those thoughts I had that was similar when I was in a traditional nine to five job as well. And it's knowing that you'll never be able to beat the cap of the salary increase that they give you a few percent each year or you have to work years to get promotion. And I just saw it, it was too slow and not fulfilling. And it wasn't going to give me the kind of life that I dreamt of that I wanted to achieve at some point in my life. And I knew if I just sat around, going through the motions doing the same thing day in day out, I'd be in the same position as my peers around me in 40 years time. And I knew something had to change. There's so many reasons why you'd quit a job and start a business. So, so inspirational to hear about your story, knowing that when you do that, looking back on the success you've had, and how it made such a huge difference to your life, and how you can be more present for your wife and children, which is what it's all about in the first place. It's always inspirational to hear. So for anyone that's on the fence, and they're thinking similar thoughts as you had when you were in your job, but they're not quite sure how to actually go about taking that first step towards starting their own business. What would you recommend for them to do after this episode?

Lewis Smith: 39:08

I think you have to just start where you are no use what you have tried to do whatever you can to move yourself a step closer towards your goal, the perfect time to do it will never come if you're waiting for that then you'll be waiting forever. So if you're looking to escape the cage and try flying in the open skies, my book, the home turf advantage could be the starting point for you is packed with insights from my own journey. And I've tried to really fill it with as many practical steps as possible to help you find your path. So you can get your digital copy that you can access instantly at h t a book.com. In just a few clicks. We've left the link to that below this episode. And remember, the only way to truly fail is to just never start. So we're really excited to see where your journey takes you and perhaps feature your success story on a podcast in the near future. Enjoying

James Eardley: 39:59

the Podcast, we'd love to hear from you leave a comment or a review. And we might just feature it on an upcoming episode. Also, for detailed show notes and resources, head to dropship unlocked.com. Forward slash podcast.

Lewis Smith: 40:13

If you found value from any episode of this podcast, please take just 10 seconds to leave us a quick five star review on your podcast app of choice that helps us more than you could imagine. And who knows, you might just hear your comments on the show. Thanks for being part of our community, Your support helps us keep delivering a new episode every week.

James Eardley: 40:32

Okay, now let's answer a question that we've had in from a listener. So remember, if you want your questions answered, all you need to do is leave us a comment underneath this YouTube video or in the q&a section or the review section of the podcast platform that you're listening on. So this week, the question has come in from Daniel B. So I'll pose this question across to you now, Louis. So Daniel has first of all said that he listens to a number of the episodes, and he's really enjoying it. Thank you very much for the content, he's made redundant. And while he's looking for a new role, he's been researching high ticket dropshipping. And that's why I always come across the podcast is great to hear Daniel. And his question is, he's obviously keen to start with a dropshipping business. But how do you actually identify your first five suppliers to approach? And then how would you go about approaching them? And he's followed up with that as well, there is, does he need to put together his own supplier contract? Or will the supplier send you have a contract that you can sell him?

Lewis Smith: 41:32

Yeah, thank you for your question, Daniel, and thanks for letting us know about how and why you came across the podcast as well that he'd been enjoying the content so far. To answer your question, I guess the first thing that's important to mention is that the suppliers that we were using our home turf advantage model are reputable suppliers, and they're in the same country that we're selling into. So what that means for us is that we're working primarily with UK suppliers, because that's where our customers are based. And that means we can send those products easily, usually with next day delivery, or with one or two day delivery to UK customers, as well. So signing reputable suppliers in the UK is very, very different from working with overseas suppliers that you might find on websites like AliExpress, or T mu, or other suppliers from China. So we need to have the foundations in place before we can sign these suppliers up, they won't just work with anyone. So for example, we gotta have the right niche selected, we have our business setup correctly, we've got to have the minimum viable store built, like we guide you through all of the trust signals that you need to have set up, the supplier would want to see before they signed with you inside my book the home to and then to find the suppliers, that that's another part of the challenge. So we'll analyze the niche that we're going into. And we'll make a note of all of the direct competitors or the businesses who are already dropshipping products within this niche, then we go through the brand list on their sites. And that's when we find the suppliers that we can go and call in approach because we already know that they're happy to work with drop shipping retailers such as ourselves. So to answer your follow up question about contracts, generally, what suppliers will do is send you their own retailer agreement. So that usually includes their terms and conditions, which you just read through make sure you're happy with that before you sign anything. And yeah, that means that you shouldn't need to produce your own supplier contracts because they'll have their own. So hope that helps Daniel, and thank you again for your support of the podcast. Yeah, great

James Eardley: 43:28

question. And one that we get asked a lot is about how to find suppliers. So there is a dedicated episode of the podcast to listen back to which is all about how to find suppliers, and crucially, how to sign them once you've identified them as well. Thanks for your question, Daniel. We're also going to highlight a recent review that we've had on the podcast. And this one has come in from K sub 3946. So this was a YouTube comment. So thank you for your review. They've said Excellent. As always, I love listening to these episodes, straight up facts and no nonsense, very professional.

Lewis Smith: 44:03

Thank you so much for your review Kasab that said what we aim to deliver. So I'm glad that you've been getting value from the pod. How would you like to make an impact on the podcast? Just leave us a review on your preferred podcast platform. Or if you're watching on YouTube, leave us a comment below. We'd love featuring your thoughts in our upcoming episodes. And as we conclude today's episode, is there someone you know who could benefit from today's discussion about quitting your job? Maybe there's a friend or a family member or even a colleague that you work with. If so, click the share button and send this link to them. It might just be the nudge that they need to break free from the nine to five routine. Thanks for

James Eardley: 44:44

joining us on this episode of the dropship unlocked podcast. We hope you're walking away with insights and inspiration.

Lewis Smith: 44:51

to kickstart your ecommerce journey. Grab a copy of my book The home of turf advantage at HT A book.com is a discount Audit guide are based on real experience to help you build your E commerce venture.

James Eardley: 45:04

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more strategies and success stories.

Lewis Smith: 45:08

If you like what you heard a five star review would mean the world to us. And you might just get a shout out on an upcoming episode. And finally, thank you for deciding to spend your time with us today. We can't wait to bring you more insights on the next episode of the dropship unwrapped podcast.